Il Contratto Diabolico
by honeysyrup
Summary: On his twentieth birthday Uzumaki Naruto wakes up half-dead in a ditch in the middle of nowhere, with no memory of how he got there and nothing but questions - The most important of which is: "Exactly who is S.U.?" AU,37


il contratto diabolico

Chapter 1 - _Awakening to a Nightmare_

"...Guh!"

Pain exploded behind shocked blue eyes. They snapped open wide as their owner came awake with a harsh gasp.

There was an eerie quiet for the first few moments while the youth lay on his back, sucking in breath after shuddering breath of life giving oxygen.

Azure blue orbs darted here and there, the young man in question struggling to make sense of his surroundings. Overhead, the sky was awash in pale pinks and blues. Below, he could feel chilling moisture seeping into his back. Judging from the crisp, cool air and the slowly lightening sky overhead, it must have been early morning. He was lying prone on his back, and the entirety of his body was wracked with searing pain. Slowly, experimentally, he attempted to move his limbs, gasping again and again with barely contained panic.

To his relief, he found that his arms and legs seemed to be functional, if incredibly stiff and sore, and his wrists burned as though they'd been rubbed raw with sandpaper. The moment that he attempted to sit up, his head swam as a terrible dizziness assaulted him, immediately forcing him to lie back down again. All over he was covered in sore spots - deep welts and burns that dotted caramel colored skin, at odds with the soft lighting. A deep, raw ache permeated his entire lower abdomen, as if his insides had been rearranged in his sleep. He couldn't stop shivering, and soon realized that he was barely clothed - the remains of a shirt clung to his chest, practically in ribbons, and his legs felt completely bare, allowing the bitter morning chill to sink into his thighs and lower back, unchecked.

Stricken with terror at this realization, the young man slowly slid trembling fingers along his side and down between his own legs, pausing in hesitation as they skimmed over several fresh bruises. He shuddered as his tentative digits brushed across a strange sticky substance, half-dried and clinging to his inner thighs, but he continued to push on, teeth clenching as his brow furrowed in hesitant realization. His breath picked up, bordering on hyperventilation as the careful movements of his fingers brought them to their goal.

Painfully, he spread his legs apart a bit, keenly feeling the ache throughout his lower back as it protested against the sudden movement, and ran his forefinger along the crease of his backside, flinching as he finally breached his own tender insides. With a soft cry, he pulled his fingers back as though he'd been bitten. A feeling of nausea welled up inside him, and in the next moment he felt his guts twist in shame and disgust at the strange sensation of fullness that he could feel inside. Stricken, the young man clenched his eyes tight as he forced down the bile that rose in his throat and abruptly moved his aching body into a sitting position. But in the next moment he was sucking in another soft gasp of air - as if in protest at the quick movement, his insides suddenly unloaded themselves of their sticky burden, allowing the thick, runny substance to dribble free of his aching orifice and down the cleft of his backside, staining the ground beneath him.

There was a loud, wheezing noise, and a sharp cry - that of an injured animal seeking mercy- and it was a few moments before the boy recognized it as his own voice, creaky with disuse. Frantically, he scrambled up onto his knees and took stock of his surroundings, head whipping around like some wild thing, his fear temporarily robbing him of his humanity. He appeared to have been lying in a deep divet in the ground somewhere. The moment he sat up properly, he could identify an unfamiliar morning landscape - a few scrub bushes and thickets of grass dotted the ground here and there, and a light mist covered the ground. And just a scant few yards from where he sat, he could make out a small road with only two lanes.

The simple sign of civilization was enough to galvanize his brutally aching body into action, and in another moment the young man was up on his hands and knees, scrambling frantically in said direction. His body protested loudly - in particular his right side burned with a searing pain as if tongues of flame licked up and down it mercilessly - but somehow after a few minutes of struggle he was able to drag himself out to the side of the road. He wasn't sure how long he laid there, but he was sure that he had blacked out at least two or three times before the welcome low hum of an approaching automobile reached his ears.

The injured young man wanted more than anything to cry out and make himself known, but soon found that he hadn't the strength. Instead he lay there gasping for air, hot tears rolling down his face at the thought of his own helplessness.

* * *

The next time that his eyes opened, it was to the soft, steady mechanical beeping of many machines, and the quiet drip of something liquid overhead. Though he lay prone once again, he could feel that he was nestled comfortably among pristine bedding, a profound contrast to his earlier awakening in the field. The young man blinked profusely, trying to chase away the tiny shadow like shapes that swam about his vision, and when his eyes finally came into focus, he became aware that he was not alone. Directly across from him, two male figures were seated in what looked to be relatively comfortable chairs. One of them appeared to be thoroughly asleep, but the other looked to be awake, and currently sat gazing with half-interest at a magazine of some sort.

Eyes still bleary, the invalid attempted to speak up and make it known that he was lucid, but his voice sounded barely audible, even to his own ears.

Fortunately though, this seemed to be just enough to catch the attention of the man sitting across the room. The dark haired male lifted his head slowly to peer at the source of the noise with sharp, lilac colored eyes, before immediately standing and leaving the room. When he returned, he was accompanied by a second pair of footsteps and the soft chatter of two low, male voices conversing. By this time, the man who had been asleep in the second chair had started to stir, groggily blinking a few times before standing to join in the conversation. At this point, the young man in the bed realized that there was something very familiar about the man who'd just come awake and stared at him as he proceeded to speak with the room's other two inhabitants, combing his muzzy brain to try and come up with a reason for why that was.

It was just as he was on the cusp of a breakthrough, however, when a deep masculine voice sounded right over him, causing him to lose his train of thought and focus his gaze on the source. Above him stood an older looking male, broad of stature, with the most curious long, snow white mane. He wore a serious countenance and white lab coat, which the boy could only assume meant he was a physician of some sort.

"Good morning Uzumaki-kun," the man addressed him simply, "I'm Dr. Shiranuma. Mind telling me how you're feeling right now?"

Having had his sole assumption of the man confirmed, the young man felt tangible relief filter through him, causing his heretofore slightly tense body to fall slack against the bed sheets.

"M'...irsty," he tried, attempting to speak up when he realized that his raspy voice was not registering well, "I'm kind of thirsty..."

"We'll get you some ice chips," the doctor replied with a mild smile, "Any pain?"

"Everywhere," he answered truthfully, adding as an afterthought, "But it's not as bad as it was before. How did I get here?"

The white haired man grinned softly at him, gesturing behind himself until one of the other males in the room made his way over, a rather blank expression on his face.

"This kind gentleman found you on the side of the road," Shiranuma explained, "This place happened to be not too far away, so he brought you in. Probably saved your life."

"Hyuuga Neji," the man in question supplied politely, bowing his head in greeting, "I hope you won't find it intrusive, but I answered your cell phone while you were being treated. Your friend was calling for you very concerned, so I had him meet me here."

"Told him he didn't need to stay, but he offered to help watch over you until you woke up," came a third voice, this time from the foot of the bed. The man who'd been asleep earlier stood with a troubled gaze, scratching at the back of his head with one hand as he shoved the other into the pocket of his slacks.

"Insisted on being here when you wake up. Troublesome..." the man at the foot of the bed trailed off, and the youth was once again struck with the instinctive knowledge that he knew this person very well. His well defined, high bone structure, his sharp features, accentuated by the way that his longish dark hair was pulled dramatically into a high ponytail at the back of his head - they all seemed entirely too familiar.

"Eh?" the man in question voiced suddenly, realizing that he was being stared at inquisitively, "What's wrong, Naruto?"

At his words, 's expression turned somewhat more serious.

"We've got you on some pretty strong pain medication right now, so you're going to feel a little groggy," the physician supplied, "Do you feel anything strange besides the discomfort?"

The boy, Naruto, searched the face of the man at the base of the bed with his eyes for a few more moments, struggling to pull forth an explanation for his odd familiarity. Obviously he knew Naruto, but the injured boy was drawing a blank on who he was.

"Um... Excuse me if I sound rude," he prefaced slowly, "But... do I know you?"

At his words the man's eyebrows raised considerably and he shifted his weight a little until he was leaning forward over the foot of the bed, peering into the invalids face with visible concern.

"_Know me?_" Ponytail replied, "Naruto, it's me, Shikamaru. I'm your best friend. I work...worked...for your parents."

At this point blue eyes widened significantly. It was easy to see that his reaction had thoroughly surprised the other three men - Shikamaru and Neji stood staring at him with respective looks of deep disconcert, and Dr. Shiranuma was making a soft sound of contemplation.

"Uzumaki-san, could you please tell me your name and what year it is?" the doctor questioned seriously.

"Eh? Ah...My name's Uzumaki Naruto and the year is Nijuudai 31," he replied a bit hesitantly.

"Very good," the man praised, "Now, let me know the last thing you remember before coming here."

At his words, the youth's look turned grave. A dark shadow seemed to pass over his face as he lowered his head a little bit, allowing sleep-mussed blonde locks to fall into his eyes. After a moment of silence though, he spoke up again, raspy voice sounding particularly subdued.

"I...I woke up in a field," he answered slowly, tentatively, "I was hurt and..."

Vivid images of what he had experienced upon waking up in the field flitted across the backs of Naruto's eyelids as he closed them, momentarily reliving the situation. Shaking his head slowly to dispel the visage, he pushed on.

"It was very cold - early morning I think. I'd been lying in a ditch and I was panicked. After I managed to get up, I caught sight of a road and I crawled toward it," continued the shaky male voice, "After that, I guess I must have blacked out."

At his side, Neji nodded in confirmation, speaking up softly.

"Indeed, he was lying unconscious by the road when I found him," the serious looking young man added, "It was quite early - around 7 o'clock in the morning, or so I believe."

At this, Shikamaru, as he had called himself, made an upset face. Naruto could see his jaw clench slightly as he closed his narrow eyes for a moment, apparently lost in thought about something.

"Uzumaki-san, do you remember anything before that?" Shiranuma pressed, a look of increasing concern creeping into his features, "Tell me what you remember about how you got there."

With a nod, the blonde obediently searched his memory for what had taken place before that morning in the field. However, his face was soon constricted into a look of fear when he found that nothing came to him. Naruto's brow scrunched together in a troubled expression - it was as if his entire mind were covered in a thick mist. The harder he struggled to call forth his memories of anything at all related to the incident, the thicker the mist became.

After a moment of this, he slowly shook his head, looking down at his hands as he turned them palms upward in a gesture of helplessness.

"I have...nothing," he concluded, struggling to fight back the knot that was forming in his throat long enough to speak.

"Hmm..." the doctor trailed, "You might be concussed. Do you feel dizzy or nauseous at all?"

"Uh-uh," answered the blonde immediately, "Just this really muzzy feeling. It's like my head is full of cotton."

"Did you notice anything when you picked him up?" Shiranuma then queried, turning to Hyuuga.

"He was...badly injured," Neji replied carefully, not quite meeting the blonde's eyes now, "He was in very bad shape, as I'm sure you know doctor."

Catching sight of the young man's hesitant statement of the facts, he deduced that the other man had come to the same conclusion that he had about his state of undress when he had tumbled down at the side of the road.

"I see," the doctor said, "Well then, it looks like we're probably dealing with a case of acute amnesia here. It's not uncommon among victims of violent attacks."

"Amnesia...?" Naruto trailed, "You mean I've lost my memory."

"It would appear so," Shiranuma reinforced, "We can't be sure of the extent of the memory loss until I have you speak with a specialist, but judging by the fact that you seem to know your name, the date, et cetera, it appears that the amnesia is either selective, or hasn't effected your long term memory."

"We've known one another for years, doctor," Shikamaru supplied helpfully, "I doubt he would forget my name unless at least part of his long term memory is missing."

"True enough," Shiranuma conceded, looking from the now melancholy seeming dark haired man to Naruto, "It will take some work to get to the bottom of it, but I would encourage you not to take it too much to heart - either of you. These things usually mend themselves after enough time, and often counseling is effective in memory recovery as well."

Shikamaru appeared to be quite upset about this, but for some reason the man called Neji seemed to be even more troubled by the news. As if to confirm this fact, he spoke up.

"Doctor, is it possible to know the extent of his amnesia?" the dark haired man questioned in that quiet, subdued voice, though his pale eyes seemed to burn with something unidentifiable.

After a moment of consideration, Shiranuma replied carefully.

"Well," he said, "Because we're not privy to Naruto's thoughts, it might be impossible for us to know just what it is that he's forgotten. There are things that people who know him may be able to fill in, but I'm sure there are many more things that only he was aware of. It's those things - things that only Naruto knows - or knew - that he may never recover, seeing as he's the only one who would know that they're missing."

Hyuuga's troubled expression only deepened at this, as he murmured his understanding.

And for a moment, as Naruto heard the kind stranger's low voice sound in the quiet hospital room, he was struck with the idea that it sounded familiar somehow. Startled by this idea, he narrowed his eyes at Neji, but the other man wasn't looking his way. After a moment though, their eyes met, and the other man softly averted his gaze.

Frowning at his reaction, Naruto settled for staring down at his hands, flinching every now and then as dull pain raced up and down his right side. It was a strange sensation; he knew that without the medication, he would have been in incredible pain, but he supposed that the meds were dulling his mind's uptake of his nerves' signals from the affected area. Perhaps the doctor had also applied a local anaesthetic.

Blinking, he wondered momentarily why he felt so knowledgeable on the subject of pain and its treatment.

"Shikamaru," he asked suddenly, "Am I...some kind of a medical professional or something?"

"Eh?" The man in question looked up with a slightly startled expression as he was tugged from his own thoughts on the situation. He peered at Naruto queerly for a moment, before understanding coated his features.

"Oh, ah...well, you were in school for something like that," the man replied with a frown, "Physical Therapy. I guess maybe you had to do some med stuff probably."

Satisfied with the man's answer, and yet supremely dissatisfied with the extent to which he seemed to be missing important chunks of his memory, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to think of anything important to him. He tried bringing up memories of his friends and family, hesitant and afraid of what he might find - or rather, not find there. However, instantly a plethora of images came up in his mind's eye. There were so many faces, and while a couple of them were very clear and even had voices and smells associated with them, the majority were shrouded in the same deep mist that seemed to have seeped into almost every crease and corner of his mind. He would have to ask Shikamaru more about them all later.

Suddenly, a low, polite cough sounded from where had stood silent for the past few moments in observation.

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry to cut your conversation short," he apologized, "But I'm going to need to talk with Naruto in private for a bit. I'd like to at least try to preserve doctor patient confidentiality, and I think both of you have been privy to a fair amount already. My apologies Uzumaki-san."

"Oh, not at all! I don't think there's been any breach here yet," Naruto insisted earnestly, "But I would like to talk to you both again later...if you don't mind.

"Absolutely," Neji agreed cordially, and then with a little bit of hesitation, "Would... would you like for us to call the police while you speak? There's obviously been a crime committed here, and I think that it would be best to get them involved immediately."

After a moment's thought, the blonde nodded. "Please," he requested, before turning his querulous gaze on Shikamaru.

"I'm not going anywhere until I know what's going on," the tall man supplied with a sigh. He looked extremely tired, but Naruto was starting to think that perhaps tiredness was his default look.

"Call us when you're finished," Shikamaru said, turning to the doctor, who in response gave him an affirmative nod, "Well then, see you Naruto. We'll be right outside."

"Just a moment - I'll get you those ice chips," Dr. Shiranuma said, turning to him after the other two men had left.

With that he made his way outside into the hallway and was gone for a bit, only to reappear momentarily with a small styrofoam cup clutched in one hand.

"Take this," the physician said, offering Naruto the cup as he approached the bedside again, "It'll help with your thirst. I'm sure you're dry after all that talking, eh?"

"Thanks," the blonde accepted graciously, gulping down several of the tiny chips before taking the time to let them slowly dissipate in his mouth. The cooling sensation as the liquid trickled down was incredibly refreshing - as if he hadn't had a drink in days.

"So, Uzumaki-san, do you mind if I call you by your first name?" the older male began cordially, tossing his patient a small,reassuring grin, "I like to keep it casual with my patients, considering how small this facility is."

"Sure," Naruto nodded, smiling back as best he could as he shifted a little bit in the bed. Even the slight movement sent dull pain shooting up and down his right side despite the pain medication that the doctor had put him on. He daren't sit up for fear of what type of pain that might elicit.

Noticing his expression of discomfort, Shiranuma spoke up.

"If you're having more pain there's a little button right there that you can push for a shot of morphine," the physician advised, a look of seriousness creeping into his expression.

"Oh thank god. My side is killing me," the youth admitted earnestly, immediately locating the button and giving it a solid press. In another moment it was apparent that it was kicking in, as the injured youth's expression immediately loosened into one of clear relief.

"Better?" Shiranuma inquired with a soft smile, which grew slightly wider when his patient nodded vigorously in response, "Good stuff, eh?"

Chuckling slightly at the physician's little joke, Naruto carefully turned his gaze downward again in another moment, a contemplative look replacing his smile.

"Doctor, I don't need you to spare my feelings you know," he began slowly, voice lowering a little bit, "I have a pretty good idea about what...what happened to me, you know?"

"Yes, I suppose you do," Shiranuma said carefully, the same serious look overtaking his features, "So I won't try and skirt around it. Naruto...it's clear that you've been sexually assaulted."

"Fucked, you mean," the boy whispered, eyes narrowing into an unreadable expression.

"...Yes," Shiranuma agreed after a moment's pause in which he tried to gauge his patient's state of mind, "But I'm afraid that's not the worst of it."

At this information, the blonde gave a pithy laugh that said quite clearly that he begged to differ. There was nothing worse. His insides twisted this way and that as he struggled to focus. There would be time for his emotions later. At present he decided to take advantage of the welcome numbness that the many pain medications afforded him for the time being.

"I don't mean to belittle your suffering in any way," the older man explained carefully, "But there is another issue at hand."

A short breath, and then the doctor launched directly into his explanation.

"Naruto, it appears that one of your kidneys has also been extracted," the man informed solemnly, "Judging by the rushed stitching on your right side, it looks like you've been a victim of organ theft."

For a moment the blonde boy doubted his ears. That was some sort of urban legend, right? People having their organs stolen?

Apparently his silence had the doctor a bit concerned. The man peered intently at him az he turned his head to the side for a moment, processing what he had just been told.

"Naruto?" Shiranuma tried softly, "I know this is a lot to take at the moment. I can come back and speak with you later if you'd like."

There was another moment or two of tense silence before the blonde's shoulders began to tremble softly.

"Naruto?"

"Ha...Haha..." Naruto wasn't sure what had come over him. The laughter just suddenly started bubbling forth out of his control. "Hahahahaha! My kidney? Ahaha! My fucking kidney?!"

Shiranuma's expression turned pained as the young man's voice continued to rise in volume and octave.

"Naruto, we do have counseling available," he said softly, "I can call for someone if you need it, or if you need some time alone..."

"Counseling? For this? No it's okay, really - I get it," he laughed shakily, shaking his head slowly from side to side, "I'm okay. I'm not some...girl. It's just kind of funny when you think about it, you know? Like some kind of sick joke or something. Someone beats the shit outta me, fucks me, and as a souvenir or something, takes my kidney. Or maybe it was the other way around? They take my kidney and fuck me as a souvenir? I must've really pissed somebody off. Haha!"

Shiranuma cringed at the boy's choice of wording as much as at the bitter anguish in the his tone. Though he was laughing, it was obviously not out of humor, and there was nothing that his paltry attempts at levity could do to mask that. The older male simply bowed his head as the blonde's laughter slowly broke into a cracked whimper, then a muffled sob. For a few moments there was relative quiet as Naruto turned away, presumably crying in silence.

"I know it doesn't change anything, but I really am sorry for what happened, Naruto. Nobody deserves for this kind of thing," the physician offered in as soothing a tone as he could manage, "I'd like to give you some time alone, but I hope you'll understand if I have someone sit with you for the time being. It's not a good idea for you to be alone when you're feeling like this."

He paused for a response as a matter of politeness, but he knew very well that the blonde would not answer. The boy's shoulders continued to shake softly as he hid his face in the covers. Giving a practically inaudible sigh, the doctor shook his head from side to side. He had thought that the young man had been taking things a little too calmly, but in his limited experience with these situations, men didn't take to the idea of being victimized well at all. Judging from his reaction, it was doubtful that Naruto even realized that what had been done to him was actually a crime. Most men tended to think that these sorts of things only applied to women and children - "the weak".

Denial was inevitable - right now the best that he could do was to make sure that the boy didn't do anything foolish while he was in such a fragile state of mind. With a final sympathetic glance in his patient's direction, the doctor turned and headed back out into the hallway. After he had quietly ushered himself out of the room, he stopped at the nurses' station to order that his young patient be issued a one-to-one for the time being. His next destination was the waiting room. No doubt Naruto's friend and the young man who had saved him would want to know how the boy was doing, and though he would leave out any specific information, he could certainly let them know that right now Naruto was in strong need of their support.

* * *

"So, I think it's time you told me why you're really here," a low, masculine voice rumbled from the other side of the room.

Neji slowly looked up from his cellular phone to meet the man called Shikamaru's half-lidded gaze.

"Excuse me?" the long haired brunette replied calmly.

"Look, I know you basically saved Naruto's life this morning, but let's face it - staying here all morning looking after him even after I'd arrived? Nobody's that good of a Samaritan," the other man stated coolly. His calculating gaze might have had more impact if it weren't for the small yawn that he issued right afterward.

Neji was...surprised, to say the least. Obviously the other man was much more intelligent than he had first given him credit for, and he said as much.

"You're sharper than I thought," came his quiet reply, before he sighed and went straight into his explanation, "Make no mistake: I had nothing to do with what happened to your friend-"

"Not what happened to him," Shikamaru interjected immediately, "What was done to him. He didn't end up in that ditch on his own."

"Of course," the Hyuuga conceded, "I was not directly involved in what was done to your friend last night. But it wasn't just by chance that I ran across him this morning either. I'm a reporter."

"And?" came the lackluster reply.

Neji shifted his weight in his chair a little bit so that he was at least somewhat facing the other man - the reporter in him insisted on being face to face when talking to others, and the fact that they were sitting two seats away from one another in the same row of chairs made him uncomfortable.

"And I happen to be working on a particular report - one relating to the plane crash a few weeks ago..." the long haired man continued.

"...the one that Naruto's parents were killed in," Shikamaru finished, slowly nodding in understanding, "So you were in contact with Naruto before he was attacked?"

In response, the young Hyuuga nodded solemnly.

"I blame myself for what happened," the man admitted softly, "I warned him to be careful, but I'm afraid my warnings just served to exacerbate his concerns. I was supposed to be meeting Naruto last night to exchange some information. Only, he never arrived."

At his words, the slightly taller man's gaze grew increasingly more intense, despite his restful demeanor.

"Did you see something?" Shikamaru demanded, voice lowering an octave. It was more a demand than a question.

Neji nodded again, this time more slowly.

"I...saw some suspicious activity at the hospital where Naruto's brother is under treatment. He and I had spoken on the phone before, but I hadn't seen him face to face yet - All I knew was what I'd been able to look up in public records," the long haired man explained, lavender gaze shifting to his lap for a moment before meeting Shikamaru's again, "We were supposed to be meeting at a coffee shop - right across from Konoha General. I waited there for at least an hour, but when Naruto didn't answer any of my calls, I became concerned. He had said that he would be coming straight from the hospital that night and he wanted to meet in a public place for his own safety - that's how we settled on the coffee shop."

Shikamaru's frown only deepened as the situation began to write itself in his head, his quick mind already starting to stitch together possibility after possibility and sort them by logic.

"If Naruto insisted on meeting you in a public place, that means that at least in some small way he was worried for his own safety," the taller man said lowly, more to himself than to his fair eyed counterpart. He was careful not to reveal too much of his inner thought process to the other man, though he believed Neji's story - there was nothing for the other man to gain by sticking around if he'd had anything to do with the attack that had left his friend hospitalized.

Still, the young reporter's words left him more unnerved than anything. Hearing that Naruto had asked to meet in a public venue was...surprising, to say the least. Shikamaru knew his friend well, and the blonde was practically fearless when it came to anything besides matters of the heart. He'd watched the other boy stand down people bigger, smarter, and more powerful than himself on more than a few occasions, so for him to be so careful in choosing a meeting place was concerning, especially given his slightly reckless nature. And then there was the matter of the content of his and Hyuuga's supposed meeting.

"The news papers stated quite clearly that the plane crash was an accident," the calculating young man began slowly, "Is there something I'm missing here?"

Shikamaru didn't receive a reply, but he was able to take the other man's silence for what it was, which only prompted him to press further.

"Tell me what I'm missing here, Hyuuga," the taller man demanded, voice dropping into a near growl.

At length, the young reporter relented, eyes narrowing softly as he recounted his discoveries in a near whisper.

"My initial investigations revealed some inconsistencies in accounts by ground staff and first response crews," the brunette explained carefully, "When I started digging deeper I found what could be evidence of a cover-up, and I was attempting to look for links between passengers on the flights and known organized crime groups."

The fair young man paused momentarily as he gauged his words, as though not quite sure whether disclosing this much information was prudent or not. Finally, he gave a soft sigh before continuing on.

"The evidence is not conclusive, but I have reason to believe that the crash was in fact orchestrated to mask an assassination," explained the Hyuuga, deep frown lines creasing either side of his mouth and eyes, "I have been collecting information from people who were close to those that perished in the crash in an attempt to pick up possible leads, which is what brought me to Naruto."

Though the sharp featured male at his side was careful to check his initial emotional response, Neji could still clearly identify the shock that blossomed in his features. There were a few moments during which Naruto's friend merely leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs, pressing his laced fingers to his lips slightly in concentration, brows furrowed. He went quiet in a way that put the Hyuuga in mind of someone in the midst of meditation. His pose was such that the long haired male felt it would be wrong to disturb him, which led to a short and poignant silence that settled over the nearly empty waiting room.

At length, the taller of the two finally broke his pose and his silence, though his brows remained furrow in a hard look.

"So am I correct in inferring that you're here because you think that this..." Shikamaru gestured lightly to their surroundings, "All of this... has something to do with the crash, and why Naruto didn't show up to your interview last night?"

Neji's expression was graver than grave - a disconcerting look on his naturally serene features as he gave a slow nod.

"You see now why I cannot just walk away from this like some sort of innocent bystander," the Hyuuga stated simply, "Naruto knows... knew... _something_. And whoever did this to him did a damn good job of making sure he'd think twice before telling anyone about it. That's if he even remembers. By the looks of things though, I would say that there is little chance of that happening right now."

The long haired youth's counterpart raised an eyebrow at his slight profanity - Neji didn't strike him as the type to curse at all, but perhaps it was a testament to his frustration over the situation.

"So you're sitting on him, waiting to see what he remembers," Shikamaru inferred quietly, "You're worried somebody might still be trying to harm him...which is why you suggested we get the cops involved."

"Last night, when your friend didn't show up at our meeting spot, I went over to the hospital looking for him. I assumed he had checked in as a guest to visit his brother, which he had," the Hyuuga continued, "Only, he had failed to return his visitor's pass after visiting hours ended. The receptionist called upstairs for me, but nobody had actually seen him come in or out.

"I knew something had to be up, so I headed back to the parking lot, and that's when things became...worrisome. I was on my way out when I saw a car come speeding through; It cut me off as I was backing out. The windows were tinted, and the tag was from another prefecture. I don't know why, but something told me to follow."

"Wait a minute," Shikamaru interjected sharply, "You mean you witnessed the abduction?"

Neji shook his head slowly from side to side, his face softening a little bit as he looked down at his hands.

"Might have witnessed an abduction," corrected softly the other man softly, "As I told you before, nobody on the upper floors had seen Naruto come in or out, but he had definitely checked in.

"I followed that car on a whim, but I lost it on the highway. They got off on 49 and I missed the exit," Neji continued, "I drove around for some time trying to reach Naruto on his cell."

"You drove around those back roads all night looking for him?" Shikamaru blinked in surprise. The other man was a more tenacious sort than he had given credit for, though it could have been that running off on mere hunches was a criterion for being a good reporter.

"No, I didn't," said reporter bluntly, "After a couple hours of looking I called my boss and told her what had happened with the interview to receive her advice. I was about to head home on her orders when I got the call."

"What call?" the young Nara demanded immediately.

"A call...from Naruto's cell phone," Neji answered quietly, his voice almost a whisper, "It was muffled, but I could hear Naruto. He was...screaming. Before I could say anything, a male voice came on the line. All he said was the name of the road on which I later found Naruto. Then he hung up."

At this, Shikamaru made a face, his gaze falling to his lap. It was worse than he'd even imagined.

"I rode up and down the countryside for a couple more hours, until dawn came and I found Naruto lying by the road. I...apologize. For not being able to do more," the Hyuuga said quietly, "It may very well be my fault that Naruto was targeted to begin with. It's obvious that whoever did this to him is aware of my existence and the fact that I would be looking for my informant, or they wouldn't have called my cell phone. They might have wanted to send me a... message."

Neji startled slightly as Shikamaru's fist suddenly pounded into the wall at their backs, sending a deep thud reverberating through the otherwise empty waiting room. The Hyuuga could only stare for a moment, surprised at the lazy seeming man's sharp outburst.

"Did you get a license plate number?" the young Nara said lowly.

The other man blinked twice slowly, before nodding in response.

"Good. Get the police on the phone," the taller man murmured, before relaxing back into his seat. It was only then that Neji realized the other man had been tensed up so hard through the telling of his narrative that his nails had left small crescent marks in the soft faux leather of the seat's arm rests.

With another slow nod, Neji flipped out his phone again and dialed his contact at the Konoha Metropolitan Police Department.

* * *

Naruto was unsure how long it was before he woke again. After a while, the strong pain medication had sent him straight to sleep, and the next time that he opened his eyes, he could see fresh morning sunlight streaming through the blinds at the far side of his hospital room. Blinking softly as his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked this way and that, before realizing that he wasn't alone in the room. There at the foot of his bed, in one of the comfy hospital chairs, slept Shikamaru, a small puddle of drool collecting on the arm rest that cushioned his head.

Chuckling softly at the sight, Naruto mused that it was odd for the man to have stayed the whole night watching over him considering that he wasn't immediate family. But then again, maybe it was a testament to the depth of their friendship - the other man had said something about them being close friends.

However, it wasn't the presence of his friend that concerned him, so much as the lack of any other visitors. What about his family? Despite all of the things that he had forgotten, Naruto had been relieved to find that when he looked into his muddled memories, one of the first things that came forth were visions of his immediate family. He had a mother, father, and a younger brother who loved him. His memories of warmth and laughter told him so.

So why weren't any of them here to check on him?

He wanted badly to wake Shikamaru and ask him, but the other man slept like the dead. He had probably stayed by the blonde's side the entire time since the previous morning. Naruto told himself that he would have to thank him later for sticking with him, and then demand that he go home and get some proper rest. It meant a lot to him that someone was willing to stay with him all this time, especially when he was so damn confused and muzzy about everything - but there was no reason for Shikamaru to neglect his own personal care over it. It was a wonder that the hospital had even allowed him to stay overnight considering that they weren't blood relatives.

It was just as he was contemplating this fact that a soft knock sounded at the far left side of the room, altering him to another's presence. Naruto's clouded blue eyes snapped over to the source of the noise as he whipped his head around, startling the room's visitor with the jumpy response.

"Oh, m-m-my! I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Uzumaki-san," came the immediate apology. There in the doorway stood a young woman dressed in a pure white nurse's uniform, regarding him with a worried expression as she stood holding a small tray against her chest, "I-I can come back later...i-if I'm disturbing you I mean."

"No, I'm sorry!" he insisted reflexively, finding his heightened sense of alertness somewhat calmed by the young woman's meek demeanor, "You just surprised me a little, heh."

That and her strangely familiar seeming appearance served to mitigate his frayed nerves somewhat.

"Uhm...Is that for me?" he queried after a moment of watching her blush softly, offering a curious cock of his head and slightly lopsided smile of his own.

"Oh! O-of course!" the young nurse exclaimed, jumping into action as if just remembering what she had entered the room for. Her long, glossy, dark hair fluttered after her as she hurried carefully to

his bedside, head bowed in embarrassment.

"This is your b-breakfast, Uzumaki-san," the young lady said pleasantly, setting the tray gently down on the small rolling table before guiding the moving surface over with practiced movements until it was resting right at the young patient's side. She then snapped one side of the table free from it's supports, allowing it to swing over, fitting right across Naruto's lap.

"My name is H-Hinata, and I will be helping look after you while you recover," she explained, averting her pale lilac colored gaze bashfully at the end, "H-how are you feeling today?"

"Alright, I guess," the young blonde replied, eying the food on his tray with interest, "Looks pretty good!"

"Oh y-yes! This morning we have scrambled eggs, some toast, bacon, and fresh fruit," Hinata told him, answering his soft smile in kind, "Th-there's milk...and some orange juice there too. Do you need anything before I leave you to your b-breakfast?"

He was just about to answer in the negative when a familiar voice sounded at the door, announcing the arrival of another visitor.

"Ah, Hina-chan!" exclaimed happily from the doorway, immediately heading over to his patient's bedside, "You're here a little early aren't you?"

In response the young nurse merely regarded him inquisitively, eyes wide.

"Why n-no, I believe I'm here at my usual time," the nurse murmured after glancing at the room's simple wall clock for confirmation, "But I thought that you weren't scheduled to do your rounds until ten, doctor? It's only n-nine thirty right now..."

"Ahaha, precise as ever, aren't you Hinata-chan? As usual you're a refreshing sight early in the morning," the white haired man praised patting the young woman on her shoulder a bit too intimately. Naruto frowned slightly in confusion as his physician continued to grin in a wide, leering manner at the pretty young nurse, eyes straying unerringly to her ample bosom as he chatted her up, having yet to address his patient.

After a few moments of being ignored, the young blonde cleared his throat loudly, finally eliciting a slight scowl from Shiranuma as he finally turned his attention to the young man in the bed.

"Oh, Naruto," he said offhandedly, "Good to see you're awake."

"Well, I'd better get to m-my other p-p-patients!" Hinata interjected right away, obviously knowing a chance to escape when she saw one "I'll be back to check on you s-s-soon, Uzumaki-san."

And with that she had scurried off out of the room, blushing furiously all the way.

"Dr. Shiranuma?" Naruto called, realizing that he had lost his physician's attention again. The older man stood staring appreciatively after the flustered young woman's rear as she hurried away.

"Dr. Shiranuma!" the blonde finally shouted.

"Mmn? Oh, you're awake," the man mumbled as the lecherous grin that had plastered his face was quickly replaced by a look of genuine surprise.

Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch slightly in irritation. It seemed he had discovered his doctor's fatal flaw.

"I thought we'd established that," the bedridden young man grumbled, "You're here to check on me?"

"Yes, of course," the older man said hurriedly after an awkward cough, giving Naruto the strong impression that the doctor lacked any legitimate reason for having entered the room at all.

"Just...ah...wanted to let you know that there was a call from the police department. A detective will be coming by this afternoon to speak with you," Shiranuma informed, eying him with concern, "How are you feeling this morning? Are you still having trouble remembering anything?"

At the blonde's solemn nod, the man's mouth flattened into a straight line, his gaze shifting to the ground momentarily as he nodded in understanding.

"I told them as much, but they still seem to want to talk to you," the physician frowned, "I can tell them to come another day if you still need some time to collect yourself-"

"No!" Naruto demurred, catching himself when he realized that his voice had come out a little too loud, "...No, I want to talk to them. I just want to get it over with as quickly as possible."

"I understand," the doctor nodded, respecting his wishes, "I'll have someone come by to tell you when they arrive. Are you feeling... okay?... Otherwise, I mean."

Naruto's gaze clouded further when he realized what the underlying meaning of the doctor's words held. The heavy drug induced sleep had done well in restoring his state of mind a bit, but he knew that all the ugly feelings he'd been assaulted with yesterday were still there, waiting to be released in his next moment of weakness. Only the last vestiges of shock and denial seemed to be standing between him and those emotions, like a thin barricade ready to crumble at the slightest shake.

"Oh... yeah, I think I'm okay. I mean, the good thing about this amnesia thing is that I can't really remember any details, you know?" he said with a thin, grim smile. It faltered a bit when he looked up to find the older man gazing down at him with a serious look that seemed out of place on his face. Oddly enough, he found that he much preferred the lecherous grin he'd seen plastered across Shiranuma's face just moments earlier. It seemed so much more natural. That face made him feel like he was some sort of walking misfortune, sucking the humor and light out of the room - something he'd never wanted to feel or believed he could become. And so, as was his habit, he chose to escape for the time being with levity, however tasteless - a habit he slipped into as easily as an old worn shoe.

"Hey, cheer up, doc," he said, feigning as much of a genuine grin as he could manage, "At least I can't get knocked up, right?"

"Don't you-!" the other man shouted unexpectedly, startling Naruto slightly before he realized how loud he had been and went silent, glaring off to the side for a moment in what seemed like genuine anger.

"Don't joke like that, Naruto," Shiranuma said after a moment, looking him in the eyes, "I know that you're not comfortable being in this position, and I'm not telling you to be a victim... that's not who you are. But this is a serious crime that's been committed here, and you shouldn't try and brush it off. Take it from me: A real man knows how to accept help when he needs it."

The blonde could only stare at him wide eyed for a minute. The way that the older man spoke had struck something deep in his heart somehow. Somehow, in that moment, it had been as if Shiranuma had some insight into Naruto as a person that he himself didn't - not like a concerned professional responsible for his well being, but like a close friend...or a parent even. For a few seconds he couldn't find any words to respond with, not even a simple "Thank you". It took a few moments before he realized that something wet and salty had slipped down into his slightly gaping mouth.

"...Okay," he said, blinking profusely as he hurriedly lowered his face, though he had a feeling the other man could tell that he was crying again, "Okay. Message received."

"Good," the other man said, seeming satisfied, and it was enough. It was only slightly, but Naruto could feel himself letting that wall of denial break down a little bit, and finding that somehow he wasn't crushed and washed away by what was on the other side.

"Mmn..."

The two of them slowly turned their attention to the origin of the soft groan, both sets of eyes landing on Shikamaru, who had apparently been reluctantly roused from his slumber by all the noise. The dark haired young man stirred a second later to look up toward Naruto, then at the doctor when he realized that the two of them were not alone.

"What's going on? Did I miss something?" the tall young man demanded after noticing Shiranuma's presence, sitting up - or at least slouching slightly less - immediately.

"This guy..." Naruto said after staring at Shikamaru wide eyed for a moment, shaking his head, "You mean all that talking and you're just waking up? I thought you were just being polite or something."

"I'll be back in a while to see how you're doing," Shiranuma said before he promptly turned and left the two of them to their devices, chuckling softly to himself.

Shikamaru merely stared after his retreating back suspiciously.

"That guy's a strange one," he said to Naruto after a moment, "I know he said he likes to keep it casual with his patients, but don't you think he's a little _too_ casual?"

"What do you mean?" the blonde queried, genuinely surprised to hear his own inklings echoed back at him through Shikamaru.

"Calling you by your first name... the way he talks to you... He acts like he knows you or something. I dunno, maybe I'm just thinking too hard. Bothersome..." the dark haired man mumbled, leaning back in his seat to fold his arms across his chest, "Anyway, how are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm... okay, actually," Naruto said after a short contemplative pause, though out of the many times that he'd been asked that question this morning, he actually felt like he meant it this time, "I think I'm actually going to be okay."

"Well you certainly look a lot better than yesterday," Shikamaru said with obvious relief tinting his voice, "Jesus, Naruto, you had me scared for a while. I mean the way you were sleeping when I first got here... They said you were stable, but it was like you were unconscious or something. It really looked like you were..."

The taller of the two let out a deep sigh after that, tilting his head back a little to gaze up at the ceiling.

"Well that's a serious allegation coming from you," the blonde grinned, attempting to bring some levity back into the conversation.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Shikamaru demurred, earning himself a genuine laugh.

"Seriously though man, I'm really glad you're okay. I didn't know what I was going to tell Kiba and the others if... you know..." the dark haired man trailed, amending his statement when he realized that Naruto was giving him that particular blank look," You don't know who I'm talking about do you?"

"Kiba...?" the blonde trailed, confused and a little contrite, though his memory gaps were beyond his control.

"He's one of the staff at your pa-... your store," explained the brunette counting on his fingers as he went, "There's him, Shino, Tenten, Ino when she's not helping out at her parents' shop, Chouji, and me. I'm the assistant manager, and you, Tenten and I switch off supervising morning and afternoon shifts."

Naruto's expression brightened a little at this. It was a nice reprieve to hear about something that didn't relate to the attack or how he was feeling for a change.

"Sounds like fun," he said honestly, eyebrows raised, "What do we do?"

"Traditional sweets," came the simple reply, "You know - mochi, manju... that kinda stuff."

"Oh..."

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"I thought you said I was studying to be a physical therapist?" the blonde said confusedly, "Sounds like a lot of work doing that and running a store."

"Ah..." trailed the dark haired man. Naruto wasn't sure but he thought he heard a curse and the word "bothersome" said under his breath. "The thing is Naruto," Shikamaru began carefully, "I hadn't meant to bring this up, since I wasn't sure how much you did or didn't remember."

He looked askance at his friend for a moment, perhaps hoping that Naruto would speak up and offer him a reprieve from having to broach another difficult subject, but no such answer was forthcoming. Instead the blonde looked at him rather innocently, eyes blank and eyebrows raised.

"The shop belongs... belonged to your parents," Shikamaru explained as gently as his slightly gruff demeanor would allow, eying his hands, which were now folded lightly in his lap "But its yours now. They passed away a few weeks ago."

After allowing silence to reign for a few seconds, the dark haired man finally looked up at his friend to try and gauge a reaction. He found that Naruto was sitting with his lips slightly parted, eyes still blank as if he had retreated into his own thoughts momentarily.

"Naruto?"

"Oh..." came the slow reply, "Oh."

"I know. I'm sorry man," Shikamaru offered as supportively as he could, "Really sorry. They were great people. They didn't deserve to go like that."

"How?" came Naruto's soft dulcet tones, as if the other young man was just snapping back into reality.

"Huh?"

"How did they...?"

"Oh, right," Shikamaru nodded, catching on. He gazed at his lap as he replied in a very subdued manner, "They were in an accident - a plane crash. It was a really big deal. Lot of people died."

"And S-..." Naruto blinked, surprised to find that his words caught in his throat for a moment,"And... my brother?"

"Oh, no. Of course not," the other man reassured immediately, "Last I heard he was still in the hospital, but he's okay. Stable and everything from what you and Sakura - she's your other best friend besides me and your brother Sai - last told me. We can call the hospital for him later if you want. He would want to know where you are and how you're doing."

"Oh, yeah okay," the blonde agreed, expression hovering somewhere in between relief and disbelief. He continued to stare off into space for a few moments before Shikamaru's voice called his attention again.

"You should probably eat that. Looks like it's getting cold," the dark haired youth said, nodding toward Naruto's lap. At his words the patient glanced down to find his breakfast, completely forgotten. With a slightly detached nod, the blonde plucked up his plastic fork and knife and began to pluck at his food rather disheartedly, earning himself a concerned frown from his friend, though Shikamaru doubted he noticed. After a few minutes of watching Naruto shift his food from side to side on his plate, the brunette finally rose from his seat to walk around to his friend's side, offering him a soft pat on the shoulder.

"Eat up, Naruto," he urged quietly, "You need to get your strength back so we can find out who did this and go kick their ass. I'll be back in a bit."

And with that, the tall, lanky youth shoved his hands deep into his pockets, face set in a grim expression as he turned and sauntered off down the hallway, presumably in search of some breakfast of his own.

The rest of the morning passed in relative silence after Shikamaru returned. The two of them chatted together for a little while, with the darker haired man carefully filling Naruto in on the details of his day to day life wherever he could. After talking through breakfast and into the afternoon, the blonde was shocked to find how much of his memory seemed to be fuzzy or just plain missing - even ordinary things like whether he usually took breakfast or not.

"It's getting kind of late. Did you wanna call Sai?" Shikamaru asked after glancing at his watch and realizing that they'd been talking for well over two hours, "He might be worried after not hearing from you for a day."

When no answer was immediately forthcoming, the dark haired man raised an eyebrow in his friend's direction. Naruto was fast learning that despite his rather layabout attitude, Shikamaru was pretty good at discerning his friend's verbal and non-verbal cues, even when he himself didn't even realize that he was giving them. It seemed to be a testament to the length of their friendship, as according to Shikamaru they had been buddies since high school.

"About that," Naruto began carefully, realizing that the other man would demand an answer to his silence, "I was thinking maybe I'll wait a little to contact him. Sakura too."

This earned him two raised eyebrows.

"I know, they're probably going to worry," the blonde amended quickly, "But... I'm just not ready... to tell them yet about all this. Sai's stable right now, but he's not in the best of health. I don't think he needs any worries piled on top of his condition. You think you could cover for me for a little while? Just a couple days... you know... while I get my head straight."

For a minute Naruto stared furtively at his lap, worried that Shikamaru might somehow figure out the rest of the story about the attack just from those few sentences, especially from the way that he had rushed out the last few words. But miraculously the other man merely sighed and offered his support.

"Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Whatever you need," he said casually, "But Tenten and the others are gonna have questions. I've got her covering for me this morning. What do you want me to tell them?"

"I dunno. Just tell them I had to clear up some things with school, I guess," Naruto offered, trying to think of a viable excuse based on the helpful information that he had gleaned from his friend that morning, "Tell them I had to finish up some paperwork for my withdrawal or something... that I needed some time to clear my head after the... after the funeral."

Shikamaru merely nodded in understanding, but Naruto hadn't missed the way the brunette's eyebrows had knitted together slightly when he gulped at the mention of his parents' funeral.

"Got it. I'll make it believable," assured the taller man, "If that's the case, I'd better get back to work. Knowing how Kiba likes to nose around, he'll probably bug me for more information, but I think the others will be fine. Don't worry about the shop, I'll take care of it - just focus on feeling better. We'll sort out the rest once you feel up to it."

At the lanky young man's confident statement, Naruto nodded, significantly reassured. If Shikamaru said he'd take care of it, he'd take care of it. He was quickly learning that the lazy man was nothing if not competent.

"Guess I'd better be getting back to the shop then," the brunette grumbled after a moment of thoughtful silence, "God, Ino's gonna be up my ass about not putting in her overtime request. Damn bothersome..."

"Heh, good luck," Naruto called after his friend as the other man began his slow saunter out of the hospital room, "Thanks again for sticking around. And get some rest!...God, that's an ironic statement."

"Again, I have no idea what you're talking about," Shikamaru deadpanned, before cracking a slight grin, "Later. Feel better, alright?"

"I'm all over it," assured the blonde with an even wider grin, winking and playfully miming a gunshot at his friend. The other man merely gave a lackluster wave over his shoulder before disappearing out into the hallway.

Once Shikamaru was gone, Naruto settled back into his sheets, feeling rather as though he had regained some of his carefree nature after their little sit-down. Things were otherwise calm for a while after that. A nurse's aid came by to collect his breakfast tray and give him a message that a detective from the metropolitan police department had called, and would apparently be around sometime near noon to see him. The same aid came back only a few minutes later to help him get up to use the bathroom and shower. Dr. Shiranuma also came by to check on him and give him a few more details, but other than that, things were rather uneventful. He idled away his time watching TV for a little while, then fell off to sleep for a bit, and when he awoke he found that it was already midday.

Remembering that he was supposed to get a visit from a detective around that time he sat in mild anticipation for a little while, but lunch came and went and there had still been no visit. Naruto contemplated for a little while whether he should ring for the nurse to check and see whether the party in question had called to say that they would be late or not, but decided better of it. He really didn't want to be one of those annoying patients who was on the bell every few seconds over minutia. And so with a shrug he gave another push to the morphine button to stave off the slowly intensifying ache in his side, before eventually drifting off to sleep yet again.

"...-maki-san...Uzumaki-san..."

"Mm?" ocean blue eyes fluttered open groggily at the sound of their owner's name being called, even before the young man's sleeping mind had been properly roused to wakefulness.

"U-Uzumaki-san, p-please wake up."

"Ah! ...up...I'm up!" Naruto mumbled irritably as the gentle voice finally broke him from his pain-killer aided snooze, "What...? Agh... What is it?"

Blinking profusely, the blonde boy propped himself up on one forearm to peer up blearily into the familiar, softly rounded face of his nurse from earlier, Hinata.

"I'm t-t-terribly sorry to wake you, Uzumaki-san...but the detective from the city is here to see you," the young woman apologized sincerely, looking down fretfully at him. Ordinarily Naruto would have had a more annoyed response to being woken so suddenly out of such a deep sleep, but somehow he couldn't manage to be even a little bit irritated with the girl currently gazing down at him with fearful doe eyes. Instead he ended up grunting somewhat incoherently.

"Agh...weren't they supposed to be here like..." he grumped as he mustered the coherence to glance at the clock hanging on the wall,"Four hours ago?"

"Y-yes but he's just now getting here. I can have him c-come back if you're not feeling up to it though," she confirmed, looking for all the world as if she might _actually_ die if she had to ask the police detective for any such thing, "D-dinner isn't for a couple hours if you need to rest some more..."

"No, no...No," he assured her, "Just send him in. Thanks, Hinata."

With a clearly grateful nod, the meek young woman immediately scurried out the door to do just that, murmuring an affirmative answer. Just moments later he could hear her soft voice conversing briefly with what sounded to be a deep male voice, perhaps a bit older than his own, and in another second a tall shadow had darkened the doorway to his room.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" came that same older voice, prompting the blonde to turn his head toward the doorway. There stood a relatively tall man, who looked to be perhaps in his mid to late thirties save for the stark, pure silver hair that cascaded down over one side of his face, effectively obscuring his right eye.

At his slow nod, the man made his way unhurriedly toward the bedside, where he flashed his badge before offering a small slip of paper to the currently bedridden youth. Sitting up slowly, careful of his aching side, Naruto politely reached for the proffered business card, turning it over carefully after a brief examinatorial glance at the detective.

It was clearly an official card from the office of the metropolitan police department, sporting Konoha's city emblem and that of the police force, as well as the detective's specific unit and contact information. Naruto paused briefly as he read the man's departmental title however - "Hatake Kakashi" it read, "Special Detective, Organized Crime Unit". For a moment he found himself reading the card twice, unsure he had been reading right, but another glance confirmed that what he had just read was in fact correct.

_'Organized crime, huh... Does this mean the police _actually_ think this has something to do with black market organ trading?'_ the boy wondered briefly in slight amazement.

"Detective Hatake Kakashi, Konoha MPD. Please, call me Kakashi," the silver haired man said by way of introduction, "Sorry I ran a bit late - I had to help a woman rescue her cat from a tree on the way. I'm here to talk to you about what happened the night before last, if you don't mind."

Blinking profusely at the bizarre explanation, Naruto wondered at the man's words.

_'Ran a bit late"? He was like four hours behind time and didn't even call!' _the blonde grumbled to himself mentally, _'Then he comes in here waking me up out of a dead sleep on top of that...If this guy is on the organized crime task force, the mafia must be rockin' like a fuckin' hurricane right about now. No wonder they've got him out here taking statements...'_

However, being completely unprivileged to his thoughts, the older male just gave him a once-over, peering along the upper half of his body - what wasn't hidden under his bed covers - with a critical eye.

"Looks like you got pretty banged up," he said after a moment, meeting Naruto's eyes as he gave a vague nod in the direction of his injuries.

Naruto winced a little at the last few words, although he was relatively sure the man had no idea of the possible double entendre of his statement. He doubted that Shiranuma had discussed the matter of his sexual assault with the detective over the phone.

Instinctively, his hand raised to his neck, where thick white gauze was wrapped around several times, concealing a rather nasty set of injuries. From what had explained to him during a visit earlier that day, Naruto knew that it appeared he had been bound by the neck with something thin and rope-like - like some sort of wire or garotte - and it had cut deeply into his flesh, probably from him struggling against it. There were similar marks on his wrists as well. He cringed as he thought about it. Those and the lacerations and burns that littered his body front and back told a pretty gruesome tale even without the added elements of rape and organ theft.

"Sure," the blonde said obligingly, "There's a seat over here if you'd like to sit."

With a nod the detective made his way around to where Naruto was gesturing, grabbing one arm of the seat to slide it up so that he was right at the boy's bedside, the two of them relatively face-to-face. The man cut a much more imposing figure up close, dressed sharply in a crisp dress shirt and tie, black slacks, and a very well fitted black over coat.

"Thanks," said Hatake with a slight nod as he got settled. Immediately he reached for an inner pocket concealed in his coat and produced a flat, rectangular, black object - presumably his police book - and a pen.

"So, tell me about what you remember from right before the incident," he said casually, as though the two of them were merely sitting down for a chat, "Anything, even the slightest detail."

"Well, the truth is...I don't really remember much of anything," he admitted, at once feeling as though he had just exhaled after holding his breath for too long, "I don't know if I got hit on the head really hard or what they did to me, but I have really bad amnesia...like I can barely remember anything at all - even normal stuff like about my friends and stuff."

The detective raised an eyebrow, but somehow his face showed little surprise. Perhaps he had been doing this job long enough that he had stopped being amazed by what he heard and saw from day to day. Neither did he seem particularly deterred by the blonde's statement for that matter.

"In cases like these it's not uncommon for victims of violent attacks to suffer from memory loss directly afterward," Kakashi reassured him, "It's rather rare that the effects last for more than a few days or weeks... a couple months at the most. I'll still work to the best of my ability to see to it that the culprit is apprehended. I assume you'll be wanting to press charges against the guilty party or parties for battery when they've been found?"

Naruto felt his throat go dry after hearing those words. Shiranuma's advice to him from that morning echoed fresh in his mind. If he was going to say something, now was the time. Allowing a tense expression to cross his face, he paused and took a long, deep breath. He had been somewhat prepared for this, but that didn't make it any easier.

"About that..." he began slowly, as if testing the waters, "...I want you to add sexual assault to the charges."

He had expected the detective to ask for clarification, or for there to be a pause of contemplation at the very least, but Kakashi's response was immediate and practiced, completely unassuming.

"Understood," he said simply, as if taking a coffee order or something equally non-imposing, "If that's the case, I'm sure your doctor did a kit when you came in. I'll make sure to pick it up from him."

"Th...thank you," Naruto nodded, grateful for the man's professionalism. Instantly he found his earlier harsh opinion of Kakashi as a police official revised by many points.

And that was it. It was done. He actually felt like laughing a little for some reason, feeling rather stupid for having worked it up into such an awful ordeal in his own mind.

"Really... Thanks," he said, smiling grimly to himself a little, "I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, but I really can't remember anything at all about what happened. It's like when I try to think about it...try to pull even just a little scrap of a memory up from that night all I see is red... red... and black. I can't even remember if... if it hurt or..."

"Uzumaki-san," the detective's words snapped him out of his thoughts suddenly, and Naruto realized that he had just zoned out again and started rambling. He had been told by Shikamaru that he seemed to go into a trance every now and again - like his mind was stuck on something and he just couldn't pull his thoughts away from it. But every time his friend had asked him what he had been thinking about exactly, he drew a blank. It was kind of like getting absorbed in a television show and then later on completely forgetting what it was about the minute someone asked what you were watching.

"Sorry. I'm sorry..." he said, feeling earnestly apologetic, "I've been doing that lately. Guess it's another after effect, right?"

"It could be..." the young detective answered carefully, "Do you mind if I ask the hospital staff to let me look through your personal effects? Even though you might not remember what happened yet, I'm sure your things will tell a story on their own. We might be able to get an idea of where you've been. Between that and testimony from people who might have seen you last, we'll probably be able to put together a time-line of your movements from that day."

Naruto found himself staring with eyebrows raised at that statement. What Kakashi was talking about doing actually sounded like real detective work. Perhaps there was a reason why the man had been made a special detective after all.

_'He could be one of those idiot savants or something,'_ the boy thought to himself humorously, snorting a little bit in amusement, _'He can't get to an appointment on time to save his ass, but he's a brilliant detective.'_

"I think that'd be a good idea," the blonde responded aloud, "As long as I can get them back later."

His stipulation was greeted with an easy nod.

"Of course," replied Kakashi, "If there's anything we need to keep for evidence, I'll let you know, but otherwise you'll have your personal effects back before you leave the hospital."

"Sounds good. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Naruto said, eyebrows raised, "I'm kinda getting tired, and I think dinner is on its way."

"No, no, that should do it. I'll leave you to it," answered the detective with a small, knowing smile, "If I need anything else I'll be in touch, and you have my information. Feel better."

With that, the silver haired gave another nod and stood to take his leave, offering one glance back at the blonde as he approached the door. For a moment Naruto was slightly surprised as he glimpsed genuine concern there, that seemed beyond that of an officer of the law doing his job. As he watched the older male's retreating back, he was struck by the thought that Kakashi seemed to be a pretty decent individual - he felt like his case was in surprisingly capable hands.

Another two hours later found the blonde fed, freshly washed, and ready for bed. Although he felt like he hadn't done much of anything at all that day, for some reason Naruto was very tired. That night he didn't need the aid of the pain-killers to quickly find himself nodding off, and soon he was fast asleep.

* * *

"Urgh...wha...?"

Cloudy blue eyes slowly cracked open as Naruto was gently nudged into consciousness, muzzy headed and irritable after having been awakened from a dead sleep. For a few moments he felt disoriented and somewhat nauseous as he was unwillingly dragged back to reality from blissful oblivion and abruptly reacquainted with the relentless dull ache of his side. For a moment he was baffled at his unfamiliar surroundings - at first, he expected to find himself in his own bed at home - but that was only until the truth of what had been the single worst forty-eight hours of his entire life came crashing back into focus, leaving him yearning keenly for the merciful embrace of drug induced sleep once more.

"U-U-Uzumaki-san? I'm s-s-s-so sorry to wake you, but you have an urgent phone call! It's from your friend Mr. Nara," came a familiar, slightly panickd, feminine voice, hushed in the half-dark of his hospital room.

At his side stood a very nervous looking Hinata, eyes lowering immediately after briefly meeting his harsh blue ones, as a soft blush, barely discernible in the shadowed room, tinted her cheeks. He knew that the woman was only doing her job, but God help him, for a moment he could not keep from loading all of his anger and frustration and _weariness_ into his gaze as he scrutinized her.

"_Urgent?_ What the hell about?" he echoed irritably.

"He d-d-didn't say. I can redirect the call to your room's handset from the nurse's station, but I w-...wanted to make sure you were awake first," the young woman explained, voice growing smaller and harder to hear by the moment as she shrank under his gaze.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," he murmured, his mind still half asleep and begging for more.

Happy to be released from the uncomfortable situation, the young nurse was soon scurrying off to connect his call, and in another few moments the handset at his bedside was ringing softly.

"Hello?" the blonde answered a little harshly, the clock on the wall across from him read well after eleven pm.

"Naruto?" came afamiliar male voice from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, Shika, what's up? It's kinda late...," he replied, still completely confused as to why the other male would be calling him at such a late hour and not quite able to keep the slight annoyance from his voice, but still giving it a valiant effort.

There was a somewhat tense pause on the other end.

"Naruto...it's Sai," the other male said after a deep, steadying breath. His words came out almost as a sigh, as though every troublesome thing that the other man had ever dealt with was sealed up in just that one phrase.

Time seemed to slow somehow as the blonde's mind immediately jumped to every terrible reason for him to be receiving a call this late at night from Shikamaru about his brother.

"Shikamaru...? What about Sai?" he queried tentatively, sure that he would not like the answer, and even more sure that he was not prepared to cope with whatever that answer might be.

"You see, Naruto, I just answered a call from Konoha General on your cell."

_'No no no no no no no...' _the blonde found himself thinking immediately, _'Anything but that...Not Sai...he can't...'_

But though the worst case scenario was the only thing that was running through his mind at that moment, nothing could have prepared Naruto for what he heard next.

"Sai, he's..." Shikamaru gave an almost inaudible gulp on the other end of the line as he measured his next words carefully,

"He's missing."

* * *

Author Talk:

Chapter 1 is out! Hooray~! X'D Hachico here, thanking you for taking the time to check out my new offering, Il Contratto (or ICD for short).

First of all, I have to thank my genius beta, Cannibal Incorporated, whose intelligent, insightful comments and suggestions allowed my writing to shine in a way that I never could have achieved alone, and who is truly the perfect person to help me produce this story.

This fic takes a lot out of me. It's really opening my eyes to the sheer amount of time, energy and careful revision that it takes to produce a good story. In this fic in particular, there is a hell of a lot going on, both in the foreground and in the background where Naruto is unable to perceive it, and I'm hoping that a lot of these things will raise plenty of questions in the minds of the readers, to be answered later on. Actually have a prologue that I thought about including, but I'm still not sure if it will add to the story in the way I want. /:'O I might come back and stick it in later yet! Also, the romance will take time to develop, but that will make it all the more powerful, so look forward to it!

Ummm...I guess that's it for now. Thanks for your time!

-hachico


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